• Title/Summary/Keyword: Black hole physics

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LOW FREQUENCY OBSERVATIONS OF A RADIO LOUD DWARF GALAXY

  • Park, Songyoun;Sengupta, Chandreyee;Sohn, Bong Won;Paudel, Sanjaya
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.50 no.5
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    • pp.151-155
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    • 2017
  • We investigate the radio properties of the dwarf galaxy SDSS J133245.62+263449.3 which shows optical signatures of black hole activity. Dwarf galaxies are known to host intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) with masses $M_{BH}{\sim}10^{4-6}M_{\odot}$, some of them being radio loud. Recently, Reines et al. (2013) found dwarf galaxy candidates which show signatures of being black hole hosts based on optical spectral lines. SDSS J133245.62+263449.3 is one of them; it shows a flux density of ~ 20 mJy at 1.4 GHz, which corresponds to $L_{1.4GHz}{\sim}10^{23}W\;Hz^{-1}$. This is much brighter than other black hole host dwarf galaxies. However, star formation activity can contribute to radio continuum emission as well. To understand the nature of the radio emission from SDSS J133245.62+263449.3, we imaged this radio loud dwarf galaxy at low frequencies (325 MHz and 610 MHz) using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). We present here the high resolution images from our GMRT observations. While we detect no obvious extended emission from radio jets from the central AGN, we do find the emission to be moderately extended and unlikely to be dominated by disk star formation. VLBI observations using the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) are now being planned to understand the emission morphology and radiation mechanism.

Alfvenic Turbulence in Pulsar/Black Hole Magnetospheres

  • Cho, Jungyeon
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.99-99
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    • 2013
  • If the magnetic field is extremely strong, as in pulsar/black hole magnetospheres, the Alfven speed approaches to the speed of light and we need relativity to describe interactions of Alfvenic waves. In this poster, we discuss physics of Alfvenic turbulence in this limit. We first discuss interaction of Alfvenic wave packets and scaling relations of resulting turbulence. Then we show results of numerical simulations. Finally we compare relativistic Alfvenic turbulence and its Newtonian counterpart.

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Relativistic Hydrodynamics and Quasiperiodic Oscillations

  • MATHEWS GRANT J.;FRAGILE P. CHRIS;WILSON JANES R.
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.34 no.4
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    • pp.265-269
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    • 2001
  • We present preliminary numerical simulations of tilted-disk accretion around a rotating black hole. Our goal is to explore whether hydrodynamic instabilities near the Bardeen-Petterson radius could be responsible for generating moderate-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in X-ray binaries. We review the relevant general relativistic hydrodynamic equations, and discuss preliminary results on the structure and dynamics of a thin, Keplerian disk.

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The $M_{BH}-sigma_*$ relation of local active galaxies

  • Kang, Wol-Rang;Woo, Jong-Hak;Riechers, Dominik
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.37 no.1
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    • pp.46.2-46.2
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    • 2012
  • The black hole mass-stellar velocity dispersion ($M_{BH}-{\sigma}_*$) relation observed in the present-day universe has motivated numerous studies on the black hole-galaxy co-evolution. It is crucial to define the$M_{BH}-{\sigma}_*$ local active galaxies since cosmic evolution of the correlations is calibrated based on the local relation. However, stellar velocity dispersion is difficult to measure in active galaxies due to much higher AGN continuum than stellar pseudo-continuum, resulting in a small sample with reliable velocity dispersion measurements for studying the AGN $M_{BH}-{\sigma}_*$ relation. To increase the sample size and improve the measurements, we obtained high S/N near-IR spectra for 3 local AGNs, i.e., NGC 3227, Akn 120, 3C 390.3, for which reverberation black hole masses are measured, using the TripleSpec at the Palomar 5-m Telescope. By investigating aperture effect and correcting for rotation component, we determine the luminosity-weighted ${\sigma}_*$, based on the spatially resolved kinematics and compare them with optical measurements from literature. Combining our new measurements with literature data, we present an improved $M_{BH}-{\sigma}_*$ relation for the enlarged sample of reverberation-mapped AGNs.

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Defining the $M_{BH}-sigma_*$ relation using the uniformly measured stellar velocity dispersions in the near-IR

  • Kang, Wol-Rang;Woo, Jong-Hak
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.62.2-62.2
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    • 2011
  • The correlation between black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion provides an important clue on the black hole growth and galaxy evolution. In the case of AGN, however, it is extremely difficult to measure stellar velocity dispersions in the optical since AGN continuum dilutes stellar absorption features. In contrast, stellar velocity dispersions of active galaxies can be measured in the near-IR, where AGN-to-star flux ratio is much smaller. Expecting that more stellar velocity dispersion measurements will be available using future near-IR facilities, it is crucial to test whether the stellar velocity dispersions measured from the near-IR spectra are consistent with those measured from the optical spectra. For a sample of 35 nearby galaxies, for which optical stellar velocity dispersion measurements and dynamical black hole masses are available, we obtained high quality H-band spectra, using the TripleSpec at the Palomar 5-m Telescope, in order to calibrate the stellar velocity dispersions and define the $M_{BH}-sigma_*$ relation in the near-IR. Based on the spatially resolved kinematics, we correct for the rotation component and determine the luminosity-weighted stellar velocity dispersion of the spheroid component in each galaxy. In this presentation, we will show the comparison between optical and near-IR stellar velocity dispersion measurements and define the $M_{BH}-sigma_*$ relation based on uniformly measured stellar velocity dispersion in the near-IR.

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CONSTRAINING THE MAGNETIC FIELD IN THE ACCRETION FLOW OF LOW-LUMINOSITY ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

  • QIAO, ERLIN
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.457-459
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    • 2015
  • Observations show that the accretion flows in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs) probably have a two-component structure with an inner hot, optically thin, advection dominated accretion flow (ADAF) and an outer truncated cool, optically thick accretion disk. As shown by Taam et al. (2012), within the framework of the disk evaporation model, the truncation radius as a function of mass accretion rate is strongly affected by including the magnetic field. We define the parameter ${\beta}$ as $p_m=B^2/8{\pi}=(1-{\beta})p_{tot}$, (where $p_{tot}=p_{gas}+p_m$, $p_{gas}$ is gas pressure and $p_m$ is magnetic pressure) to describe the strength of the magnetic field in accretion flows. It is found that an increase of the magnetic field (decreasing the value of ${\beta}$) results in a smaller truncation radius for the accretion disk. We calculate the emergent spectrum of an inner ADAF + an outer truncated accretion disk around a supermassive black hole by considering the effects of the magnetic field on the truncation radius of the accretion disk. By comparing with observations, we found that a weaker magnetic field (corresponding to a bigger value of ${\beta}$) is required to match the observed correlation between $L_{2-10keV}/L_{Edd}$ and the bolometric correction $k_{2-10keV}$, which is consistent with the physics of the accretion flow with a low mass accretion rate around a black hole.

THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF PG QUASARS

  • Shin, Jaejin;Woo, Jong-Hak;Nagao, Tohru
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.74.2-74.2
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    • 2012
  • Metallicity is an important tracer of star formation in galaxy evolution. Based on the flux ratios of broad emission lines, AGN metallicity has shown a correlation with AGN luminosity. However, it is not clear what physical parameter drives the observed correlation. Using a sample 69 Palomar-Green QSOs at low-z (z<0.5), we determine BLR gas metallicity from emission line flux ratios, i.e., N V1240/C IV1549, (Si IV1398+O IV1402)/C IV1549 and N V1240/He II1640 based on the UV spectra from the HST and IUE archives. We compare BLR gas metallicity with various AGN properties, i.e., black hole mass, AGN luminosity and Eddington ratio, in order to investigate physical connection between metal enrichment and AGN activity. In contrast to high-z QSOs, which show the correlation between metallicity and black hole mass, we find that the metallicity of low-z QSOs correlates with Eddington ratio, but not with black hole mass, suggesting that metallicity enrichment mechanism is different between low-z and high-z.

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The black hole mass-stellar velocity relation of the present-day active galaxies

  • Woo, Jong-Hak
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.35 no.1
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    • pp.79-79
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    • 2010
  • To investigate whether the present-day active galaxies follow the same black hole mass vs. stellar velocity dispersion (MBH-$\sigma*$) relation as quiescent galaxies, we measured the velocity dispersions of a sample of local Seyfert 1 galaxies, for which black hole masses were measured via reverberation mapping. We measured stellar velocity dispersions from high S/N optical spectra centered on the Ca II triplet region (${\sim}8500^{\circ}A$), obtained at the Keck, Palomar, and Lick Observatories. For two objects, in which the Ca II triplet region was contaminated by nuclear emission, we used high-quality H-band spectra obtained with the OH-Suppressing Infrared Imaging Spectrograph and laser-guide star adaptive optics at the Keck-II Telescope. Combining our new measurements with data from the literature, we assemble a sample of 24 active galaxies with stellar velocity dispersions and reverberation MBH in the range of black hole mass 106< MBH /$M{\odot}$ < 109,toobtainthefirstreverberationmappingconstraintsontheslopeandintrinsicscatteroftheMBH- $\sigma*$ relation of active galaxies. Assuming a constant virial coefficient f for the reverberation MBH, we find a slope ${\beta}=3.55{\pm}0.60$ and the intrinsic scatter ${\sigma}int=0.43{\pm}0.08$ dex in the relation log (MBH/M${\odot}$)=$\alpha+\beta$ log(${\sigma}*$/200 km s-1), which are consistent with those found for quiescent galaxies. We derive an updated value of the virial coefficient f by finding the value which places the reverberation masses in best agreement with the MBH - $\sigma*$ relation of quiescent galaxies; using the quiescent MBH - $\sigma*$ relation determined by Gultekin et al. we find log f=0.72+0.09 (or $0.71{\pm}0.10$) with an intrinsic scatter of $0.44{\pm}0.07$ (or 0.46+0.07) dex. No correlations between f and parameters connected to the physics of accretion (such as the Eddington ratio or line-shape measurements) are found. The uncertainty of the virial coefficient remains one of the main sources of the uncertainty in black hole mass determination using reverberation mapping, and therefore also in single-epoch spectroscopic estimates of black hole masses in active galaxies.

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STUDY OF ULTRALUMINOUS X-RAY SOURCES IN SOME NEARBY GALAXIES

  • Singha, Akram Chandrajit;Devi, A Senorita
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.52 no.1
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    • pp.1-9
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    • 2019
  • We present the results of the spectral and temporal analysis of eight X-ray point sources in five nearby (distance < 20 Mpc) galaxies observed with Chandra. For spectral analysis, an absorbed powerlaw and an absorbed diskblackbody were used as empirical models. Six sources were found to be equally fitted by both the models while two sources were better fitted by the powerlaw model. Based on model parameters, we estimate the X-ray luminosity of these sources in the energy range 0.3 - 10.0 keV, to be of the order of ${\sim}10^{39}ergs\;s^{-1}$ except for one source (X-8) with $L_X>10^{40}ergs\;s^{-1}$. Five of these maybe classified as Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) with powerlaw photon index within the range, ${\Gamma}{\sim}1.63-2.63$ while the inner disk temperature, kT ~ 0.68 - 1.93 keV, when fitted with the disk blackbody model. The black hole masses harboured by the X-ray point sources were estimated using the disk blackbody model to be in the stellar mass range, however, the black hole mass of one source (X-6) lies within the range $68.37M_{\odot}{\leq}M_{BH}{\leq}176.32M_{\odot}$, which at the upper limit comes under the Intermediate mass black hole range. But if the emission is considered to be beamed by a factor ~ 5, the black hole mass reduces to ${\sim}75M_{\odot}$. The timing analysis of these sources does not show the presence of any short term variations in the kiloseconds timescales.